Speed responsive controlled oneway engaging clutch



Dec. 30, 1947. c. P. l-IEINTzE` 2,433,553 i SPEED RESPONSIY vCONTFlOLLED ONE-WAY ENGAGING CLUTCH Filled April 12, 1946 INVENTOR. Carl' Hein/23e' BY Ma? Patented Dec. 30, 1947 yoFF-1mi:

SPEED RESPONSIVE CONTROLLED ONE- WAY ENGAGING CLUTCH Carl P. Heintze, Amityville, N. Y.

Application April 12, 1946, Serial No. 661,612

3 Claims.

l This invention relates to new and useful improvements in drive mechanisms and has especial reference to one adapted for use in driving the `v rotors of helicopters and permitting a freewheeling action thereto.

An object of the invention is to reduce the number of parts required to produce this freewheeling action and to reduce the chance of mechanical helicopter failure.

A further object is to reduce the consumption of helicopter lift capacity for acquisition of clutch effects by the reduction of the clutch weight which at present is relatively very large.

A further object is to provide a simple, rugged, efficient combination of `parts which will automatically connect the rotor with the drive shaft when the speed of the engine gets above a predetermined value and will automatically make a disconnection therebetween' either when the motor speed falls too low or the rotor speed gets too much above that of the engine. l Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the lspecification hereinafter set forth especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a present preferred form which the invention may assume and which form part of the specification.

Briefly and in the most general terms, the invention comprises a driving disk. a driven ring around the disk, rollers therebetween and disposed to `be forced against the ring by cam surfaces on the periphery of the disk, means such as cooperating shoulders to hold the rollers normally at the low points on the cam surfaces so as to be out of driving contact with the ring, and centrifugally' operated means moving with the disk to release the shoulders from the rollers 2 The upper end of the shaft I3 is journalled in bearings I5. Surrounding the shaft I 3 is a hollow cylinder I6 the lower end of which is preferably flared out in the form of a ring I'I concentrically disposed with respect to the shaft I3'. The shaft I3 constitutes the driving member, the ring I1 the driven member connected to the cylinder I6 which in turn is connected through a well known overload clutch I8 which in turn connects to the driven shaft I9 to the upper end of whichthe helicopter rotor II is connected.

In order for the shaft I3 to drive the cylinder A.ring or shell VIl thefollowing construction is proabove a 'definite speed of the drive shaft so that the rollers can be forced by the cam high points into driving contact with the ring.

The present preferred form which the invention may assume is illustrated inthe drawings, y

`clutch disposed in a helicopter IIl, between the rotor blades II and the engine I2, as generally indicated in Fig, 1.

In the form shown the engine has a vertically disposed shaft I3 driving a disk -I4 connected thereto in' any suitable manner. In the form shown the disk is formed integral with the shaft.

vided as now preferred:-

The periphery of the disk I4 is provided with several sloping cam surfaces 20 having naturally high points 2I and low points 22. This configuration naturally results in a'series of shoulders 23 formed on the periphery of the cams between the high point of one surface and the low point I6 'and the shaft I9 as much as when they are l permitted to move relatively to the cam surface so that they are forced firmly against the ring surface by the high points of the cams.

Meansare provided to hold the rollers in the low points or spots of the cam surfaces and in the preferred form shown herein this construc- Ation is as follows:

A pair of ring plates 25 are disposed on opposite sides of the disk I4 provided with spaced extensions forming shoulders 26 normally disposed somewhat apart from the shoulders 23 above mentioned on the disk cam surface and between these two shoulders the rollers 24 are under normal conditions held at the low portion of the peripheral cam surface of the disk I4. These ring plates 25 are connected by a series of bolts 21 extending from one plate to the other through concentric slots 28 formed in the disk I4. These ring plates 25 are adapted to be moved from the so-called holding position to one in which the rollers 24 are released for movement relative to the cam surfaces by means of centrifugally operated elements preferably arms 29 having weights 30 at their outer ends and pivoted at 3l to the sides of the disk I4.v These arms are connected in any suitable manner to short links 32 which are in turn connected to the bolts 21 joining the ring plates 25. Thus it will be seen that as, under speed influences, the arms tend to swing 3 outwardly, the bolts 21 are moved along the slots 28 and thu's rotate the ring plates 25 and thus remove the shoulders from their normal h old-A ing position in restraint of the movement of the rollers 24. This releasing action takes place only after the shaft I3 has reached a determined minimum speed which is defined by the calculated resistance of springs 34 connected at one end to the arms 29 and at the other ends to a short arm 33 adjacent the pivot point 3| of the other arm. Thus the arms will not swing out until the speed of the shaft I3 has attained a desired amount and therefore the rollers 24 will not be forced by the cam high-points against the inner surfaceof the ring I'I until that speed at least has find the rollers still conned by the shoulders 23 and 2B.. Thus a sort of -free-wheeling action takes place with respect t0 the driving of the helicopter rotor II which will not be picked up until the drive shaft has been` speeded up a predetermined amount and kwill automatically/*be disconnected therefrom when the speed drops below that definite amount. This disconnection will also take piace at any time that the speed of rotation of the` rotor II exceeds thespeed of themotor shaft I3. i

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred form which' the invention may assume, it is not tobe limited to such details and form since many changes and modications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects.

Hence it is desired to cover any and all forms with high and low points and shoulders adjacent the low points, rollers disposed between the disk and the ring, a shouldered ring movable relative to the disk and having shoulders thereon opposed to and spaced from those on the disk,

said shoulders normally conning the rollers between them at the low points of the cams, and centrifugally operated means mounted on the disk and connected to the shouldered ring to effect its movement relative to the disk when' the speed of the disk exceeds a definite value whereby the shoulders are moved apart and the rollers released from confinement. 2. In a device of the class described, a driving disk -having a periphery formed with a series of `been reached. Any speed below that amount will x cam surfaces having high and low points with shoulders between the high points of one cam surface and the low points of l the adjacent cam surface, said shoulders facing in one direction, a driven ring concentric with said disk, rollers disposed between the periphery of the disk and the concentric driven ring and normally disposed at the low points on said cam surfaces, the ends of said rollers extending beyond the sides of the disk, shouldered rings disposed at the sides of the disk, the shoulders thereon facing those on thedisk and conning normally the rollers there between at the low points, and means on and movable with the disk and connected to the shouldered rings andresponsive to centrifugal force to move said shouldered rings relative to the disk to release the connement of the rollers.

3. In a device of the class described, a disk having a periphery formed with a series of cam surfaces having high and low points with shoulders between the high points of one cam,

surface and the low points of the adjacent cam surface, said shoulders facing in one direction, a driven ring concentric vwith said disk, rollers disposed between the periphery of the disk and the concentric' driven ring, and normally disposed at the low points on said cam surfaces, the ends'of said rollers extending beyond the sides of the disk, shouldered rings disposed at the sides of the disk with shoulders thereon facing those -on the disk and conningnormally the rollers therebetweenat the lowl points, said disk having concentric slots therein. bolts in said slots REFERENCES orrnn The following references are of record in thev file of this patent: l UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 1,499,115 May" June 24, 1924 1,937,211 'Vondra Nov. 28 1933 2,044,197 A Barthel? June 16, A1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date .1698.895 Germany Oct. 2, 1940 

